Tank Style: 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D W123
Mercedes-Benz used the W123 chassis platform to build a staggering 2.7 million cars in 4-door, wagon, coupe, and limo configuration from 1976 through 1986. This next example has the small 4-cylinder diesel engine, manual roll up windows, and a 4-speed manual gearbox — and there is nothing wrong with any of that. Find this 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D W123 offered for $6,500 in North Park San Diego, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
1982 mercedes-benz 240d
condition: good
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: diesel
odometer: 139500
paint color: blue
size: mid-size
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: sedan
Up for sale is my manual transmission 1982 Mercedes 240D in dark Midnight blue (color code 904). It’s a fun classic car that gets great fuel mileage (31mpg mixed) and looks awesome. I love these cars, this is my 3rd W123 but I’m making room for a new project.Pros:
Starts, runs, & drives great every time. Very dependable.
Low mileage for these cars 139,xxx (which appears to be accurate, no signs of rollback based on Carfax history)
Healthy OM616 four-cylinder diesel engine, little to no blowby
Air conditioning blows cold & heat works great (Working AC! was converted to R134A)
Will get up to 85mph no problem (not bad for 75hp!)
Rare manual transmission
Never comes close to overheating. Engine stays very cool even with the AC on.
Nice palomino interior, seats have no tears and are comfortable
Original loop-style floor mats in great condition
Speakers and head unit are aftermarket, and sound nice. I have the original Becker radio that I can include.
Tires have a good amount of life left
Original paint color 904 “Dunkelblau” is a great dark blue color that almost looks black depending on the lighting
Clean CA title
Diesel, so you never need to smog in CATons of recent work:
In the last few years:
Front windshield and seal replaced
Injectors rebuilt
Clutch job, brake fluid replaced
Alternator replaced
Radiator rebuilt
Starter replaced
Battery replaced
In the last few months:
Motor mounts replaced
Front & rear brake pads replaced
Rear sway bar end links replaced
Transmission mount replaced
Valve adjustment + valve cover gasket
Diesel purge + soft fuel lines
Oil & filter change
Fuse box cleaned
Battery ground strap cleaned
Manual Trans Fluid changed
All hinges lubricated
Air filter replaced
Battery area cleaned
Hubcaps polished
Interior deep cleaned
Fixed hood and grille alignment + release cable
Cluster grounds and bulbs
Climate control bulbs replaced
Throttle linkage dashpot replacedCons:
There’s a little bit of rear window rust, in the center
There’s some floor pan rust behind the driver’s seat. Luckily, the floor is still very solid, and there are no holes, so this spot can be fixed the easy way with POR15
3rd gear snychro is worn, so you have to shift a little slower into that gear. Doesn’t affect drivability, and very common with these old 4-speeds
The body is straight, but the paint has patina, nicks, and bumps. I would call the finish daily driver quality
Lower ball joints need replacing. The rest of the suspension looks good.Let me know if you have any questions! The car is in San Diego, and will make the drive to just about anywhere you may need to drive it.
See a better way to drive a tank? tips@dailyturismo.com
Buy this car if you have a child in the 11th grade up. This car will suffer the slings of the last two years of High School and (IMPORTANT) College. You know they will always have it FlOORED. Repairs so far are little stuff and there are junk yards for the rest
As to junkyards, Mercedes put the part number on every single part, and then shared them across models. Just find any model close to yours in age and it probably has the part you need.
From what I hear, you can get into exciting drag races vs fully loaded tractor trailers with these cars.
Can confirm that you will lose the race, but win the hearts and affection of the audience.
IIRC- these are one of the few cars that can’t break the tires loose on wet polished concrete….
I’ve had a couple of these. With the manual transmission you can break the tires loose as long as you rev the engine to it’s limit and drop the clutch. Wheel spinning excitement until you reach about 8 miles an hour. Driving in NYC with its parkway on-ramps with a stop sign and sometimes a policeman parked at the end make this pretty much necessary. The flywheel in these must be enormous.